Beyond: Book Four of the State Series

by M. J. Kaestli

  Cameron shrugged. “There’s a good chance I won’t understand any of your jargon. Is it important to your disappearance if it was in fact one of these wormy holes?”

  “I believe, Cameron, it is. You see, he theorized the device had to either be creating a wormhole, or it was enabling teleportation. Weston and I felt that with the distance needing to be traveled, it would most likely be a wormhole.”

  “And how exactly could that tie in to you vanishing into thin air?”

  Hope shrugged. “That is essentially the intended function of a wormhole. It is a tunnel in time and space. I wonder if I got pulled into a wormhole with no clear path to take, getting trapped between dimensions. It’s the only explanation I can conceive of where more time in your realm passed than where I was, hence, why I thought it was the same day as when I left the mountain.”

  Cameron stared at her for a time and then shook his head. “I don’t know Hope. You were gone for nearly six months.”

  Hope snapped her head up and looked directly at him and let her jaw drop. “Six months? Six months!” She intensified her breathing as though she was gasping for air. “I thought I had been gone maybe a week at most, but six months?”

  Her eyes welled with tears and she encouraged her unstable pregnant emotions to flourish.

  “Yes, Hope, six months. And that’s not all either. I don’t know if you can handle any more stress, but we need answers. You’ve been gone for a period of time which doesn’t align with what’s happening in your body.”

  My body? Why?” She screeched. “Am I sick? You didn’t tell me there was something wrong with me!”

  Cameron held his hands up defensively. “There’s nothing wrong with you and you are not sick.” He hesitated. “You’re pregnant. You are approximately twelve weeks pregnant. You had your birth control injection shortly before your disappearance and it seems you conceived as the effects of the birth control wore off. So how can your pregnancy fit into this other dimension theory of yours? Are you saying this baby could be some sort of alien? Is it going to come out green?”

  Hope allowed a few tears to run down her cheeks. “I don’t know. Nothing makes sense, but Weston and I made love the morning of the field test.”

  Cameron held his hands up. “Whoa there. That is more information than I need to hear.”

  Hope wiped away her tears and sniffled until Cameron handed over a handkerchief. “I’m just saying, I don’t have the answers, but if my body was suspended in some alternate dimension, it would make sense that my birth control would expire although I don’t understand why the semen didn’t die off.”

  Hope knew she was walking on thin ice. This story she fabricated was based on the assumption that her reappearance would remain classified. She suspected that only Lottie and Cameron knew the details of her reappearance and wouldn’t want to involve any of the team of scientists. As they themselves did not understand a single word she was saying, it essentially gave her an opportunity to sell them on some science fiction. If this incident involved no one in this matter but the three of them, she could tell them almost anything and there was nothing they could do to argue with her. Either they would be forced to involve other scientists, escalating the situation to the State, or they would simply accept anything she told them—with a rather hefty gag order.

  “So, wormholes can open another dimension, where you could have been lost for six months and you think Weston is the father of your baby.”

  “Yes. That is the most logical and probable explanation I can think of.”

  “There is only one other theory we have to draw from—something Lottie came up with.”

  Her heart rate quickened. Is he calling my bluff? “Oh? Please share that theory with me.”

  “Now, I’m going to have to paraphrase what she said quite a bit, but she has questioned if there isn’t some strange tribe of what could have originally been humans who are out there somewhere. Maybe they found you and brought you in and took care of you, or experimented on you, and that’s how you got pregnant.”

  She shook her head. “I feel if someone took me in for six months, I should remember something. It was as though the time passed in an instant. I’m not saying her theory is impossible, but I do think it is more improbable than getting pulled into another dimension. I could be wrong, that is, if I am missing a piece of information. Have you found a tribe of survivors on the surface? Is there evidence to support this theory? If so, how did they remove my helmet without killing me? Why would they take me but remove my memories of such an event?”

  “I’m going to have to be honest, I think both theories are equally far-fetched. There is no evidence of a tribe of survivors, but a situation like this can sure stir up a good amount of paranoia. Lottie got concerned that someone took you, and that someone couldn’t be a pack of Neanderthals either. If someone took you and neatly erased your memories and sent you back to us, that would mean they have technology far superior to our own. This made Lottie mighty uncomfortable that there might be a group we don’t know about, but they know about us. Hell, I think it’s more likely it was aliens who beamed you up into their spaceship and dropped you back off. You ask a good question, how did they get your helmet off and on again without wasting oxygen or killing you?”

  “Of course, they would have to build a dome structure just like ours. I assume the State still observes through satellite.”

  “You are correct. It wouldn’t be possible for a group of people to live on the surface, and it wouldn’t be possible for a civilization to grow to the point of constructing a dome without us taking notice. You see why this situation of your reappearance has left us so completely perplexed.”

  Hope nodded. He was grasping at straws trying to get her to slip up or to admit that she had taken off her helmet and knew the surface was survivable. She knew that he must know the surface is survivable, which meant Lottie must know as well. She may not understand the inner workings of the State, but she knew this secret would be held by few. It was unlikely the average military personnel would be aware. If too many people knew, or the wrong people, there would be a revolt against their way of life.

  Another thought struck her just then. Cameron knew that she was lying, yet he refused to accuse her of treason. She had been right in the assumption that her DNA was too valuable for her to be sentenced to death. Her baby would most certainly be born, she just wasn’t certain what would happen to her afterwards.

  Chapter 24

  Lottie

  Cameron and Lottie sat together in silence. Lottie was staring at the glass partition as though Hope was still being interrogated on the other side of the wall.

  Cameron looked to her. “What the hell are we supposed to do?”

  Lottie shrugged and finally looked at Cameron. “Well, at least she’s consistent. I can work with consistent.” She gave a half laugh and looked down for a moment and then back up at Cameron.

  “So that’s it then? You want to let her walk? Even though we both know she is lying.”

  “I don’t think we have much of a choice right now.” Lottie gave a half laugh. “That was a nice touch, by the way, about the aliens.”

  “You told me to act like I believed her. Just following orders.” It was his turn to give a bitter laugh, and he shook his head. “What the hell are we supposed to do with her now? I want to say that girl is getting away with murder, except murder would be an easier pill to swallow.”

  “Cameron, you know as well as I do that putting someone so valuable to the State to death would require far too much paperwork. If we were to get investigated—”

  “Oh, I know. We would be getting executed right alongside her. We are the ones who lost her to begin with. We just assumed her body was a part of the destruction instead of calling for an investigation. It’s not truly our fault but—”

  “Yes it is, Cameron. We are the only two people inside this mountain who have a high enough security clearance to know the surface is survivable. No one else would
have conceived of the need to go looking for her but us. We both had the information and were responsible for her. We could have at least conducted DNA testing to confirm her body was a part of the mess. Hell, we didn’t even go out there and see it for ourselves! We took the opinions of ignorant personnel and barked orders from the mountain without doing our due diligence.”

  “I know. I don’t know how we can possibly keep her alive without it coming around to bite us in the ass.”

  “I think that will very likely be the case.”

  “Then why should we bother? Why not just hand her over? She should be interrogated, properly. There is obviously a group of survivors who are uncomfortably close to us. We need to find out where they are so they can be taken care of.”

  Lottie reached for her glass of water and took a sip before responding. “I disagree. They have not shown up on satellite imaging. If they are not building, they are not advancing in technology. I doubt they could have weapons or be forming a military.” She took another sip of water. “Although I believe Hope could become our demise, if we let her live we at least have a fighting chance of making it through this alive. If we expose her, we expose ourselves and we have no chance. I don’t care what kind of information she can give us, they will not spare our lives.”

  Cameron shook his head. “I don’t care what kind of gag order or threats we make to her, eventually that girl will talk.”

  “I agree, but I believe it will be much later than sooner.”

  “And why is that?”

  “Because she came back for a reason. She successfully survived on the surface and obviously had a man in her life. She came back on her own free will which means she wants to be here. She knows what’s at stake. As long as she wants to be here, that girl won’t say a word.”

  Cameron leaned back in his chair. “I wish we knew what that reason was. It would make it so much easier for us to plan out our next move.”

  “I wouldn’t worry too much about that. I already know what our next move is, and I’m pretty sure I know exactly why she came back. I can appreciate as a woman, I would be terrified to squat down in the middle of a dirt field and push out a baby.”

  Cameron nodded. “I guess that makes sense. She wanted to have her baby delivered by a doctor in a hospital. So we have six months to enjoy our lives until we get caught?”

  “I think we have a lot longer than six months. I wouldn’t want to live like that with a small child either. If I were her, I would wait until it was right about to be taken away from me to start school. I would keep my mouth shut and my head down and do exactly as I was told. When my child was about to be taken away, I would grab onto them and make a run for it. It would give my child the best chance of survival when they have fully developed their immune system. If she has thought that far ahead, I can promise you, that is her plan.”

  “Interesting. How do we use this information to our advantage?”

  “Easy. We set the stage so she has as little to do with her child as possible. We ensure her child is a part of the system, as she wouldn’t leave without it. I mean, she may leave without her child, but with my plan, her child won’t go with her. If she makes a run for it and doesn’t cause any trouble before she goes, she will have been removed from us for so long we won’t be implicated. We have a chance of getting through this unscathed.”

  “You sound so optimistic, I almost believe you. Tell me then, what is this master plan of yours?”

  “We are sending her back inside the dome.”

  Cameron leaned forward on the table. “Really? Interesting strategy. I would feel a lot safer with her here. There are a lot more people she can talk to inside the dome.”

  Lottie shook her head. “I disagree. We have no monitoring system in the mountain. There is no conversation she could have inside the dome which wouldn’t be overheard. We also can’t have her be seen by anyone who might recognize her and know she is supposed to be dead.”

  “Those scientists in the truck didn’t get a good look at her. We fed them a story about special circumstances of two teams being dispatched in one day to two different locations. We said she wasn’t left behind, she wandered off and got lost and panicked. I think no one else in the mountain would know what project she was originally working on or that all of her team was disassembled.”

  “Cameron, they may not remember her team, but they would remember constantly seeing her in the cafeteria with Weston. They may question why she suddenly has a new partner. Or why she was permitted to get pregnant while working on a project. I know we do our best to keep these groups from speaking to each other, but their deaths was something no one could hide. If she stays here, there will be too many questions. If we send her back, no one will know who she is.”

  “But, what about the rest of her team? What if she runs into one of them?”

  “She won’t. When they finished their work, they were all sent to become breeders. They are living in a completely different facility then where she will be placed.”

  “And where exactly will she be placed?”

  The corners of Lottie’s lips upturned and a rather smug grin spread across her face. “You will never believe the timing of this. I have been asked to assemble a special project team. My first choice for team leader will naturally be Hope.”

  “But you said we were sending her back inside the dome.”

  “That is the best part; this project will be spearheaded from inside the dome. As the project is to find a failsafe for the dome, it has to be conducted from underneath of it.”

  “A failsafe? I thought that glass was already pretty tough.”

  “Yes, but the State hasn’t stayed in power for this long by being careless. They want to feel safe so that if someone did manage to puncture a hole in the dome, or to destroy it completely, this device would instantly take its place.”

  “Almost like a balloon inflating?”

  “Yes.”

  “How the hell are they supposed to do that?”

  “You know as well as I, the State has continually requested the impossible. It is not our job to figure out how, only to figure out who. They make a request, and we make our recommendation of the best minds for the project. My favorite part of this plan is that even if we weren’t in this situation, Hope would have been one of my top picks. She is actually the right person for this project. And it has come at a rather convenient time for us. If she is spearheading this project, they will not find another partner for her or send her to a breeding center. She will not be coupled again until this project has been completed. I doubt it will be completed in time for her to have more children. Not only will she not have a partner who she might be tempted to confide in, she will not raise her child. Her child will be placed in another home for their education until it is time to send them away.”

  “Ouch, that’s cold. We are going to take her baby away from her, the entire reason she came back.”

  “Not quite. Her child will reside with her until they turn 12, but she will not stay at home with the child for the initial part of their education. We will find a suitable parent, perhaps one who wanted another child but wasn’t granted one. Someone who would appreciate the opportunity to have another baby in their home every day. If Hope doesn’t school her child, their contact will be limited and she won’t have much opportunity to teach that child the things we don’t want them to know.”

  Cameron sat nodding with a big smile on his face. “I’m starting to believe we might actually live through this. Or at least live another 10 years or so.” Cameron drummed on the table with excitement. “So what’s next?”

  “We continue to let Hope think we believe her. We send her back to the dome and watch her closely.” Lottie sighed and looked down. “I’m sorry to say, but you will need to go with her. I have found a new assignment for you as well. I will need you inside the dome so you can check on her periodically and possibly remind her of the extensive gag order she will sign when she leaves here. We can’t let her ge
t too comfortable or confident.”

  “Wow, you actually seem sad to see me go.”

  “Yes, I have grown accustomed to you. I enjoy the way you handled the children.”

  Cameron laughed and looked back up at her. “Well, you are the only one. I will miss you too. I think this has been somewhat close to what having a friend is like.”

  “Yes. People like you and me rarely stay in one place long enough to form connections. I will not get too sappy, however, we will need to stay in close communication because of this incident, and the new assignment you are moving into. You see, the board who determine which civilians reproduce and which do not, needs a new military adviser. As the military adviser, you will hold the power of veto which does not need any justification, rationale, or evidence. When a name is submitted for discussion, no matter what the rest of the board feels, you have the power to stop someone from being selected for reproduction due to military intelligence.”